But when Cooper lost to Doug Marshall in the finals of the promotion’s Season 8 tournament, he appeared to be off the hook.

Then Marshall reportedly broke his hand and was forced to withdraw from a title fight with Shlemenko scheduled for Saturday’s Bellator 98, and the issue returned to the fore.

“With Brett, I was confident that he would [win] the previous tournament, but it happened that Doug Marshall won it,” Shlemenko (47-7 MMA, 8-1 BFC) told MMAjunkie.com Radio. “I don’t have any problem with that, so I’ll fight Brett – no problem.”

Yet the Russian champ opened the interview by saying he was “a little upset and disappointed” at the prospect of fighting Cooper (19-8 MMA, 6-3 BMMA), with whom he trained at Southern California’s Reign Training Center and had “a good relationship.” The two once shared a common manager, as well.

“But it’s a professional sport,” Shlemenko added. “It’s a professional fight, so no matter what, the fight will happen.”

Shlemenko, who spoke via translator, is known for his lack of emotion regarding most matters, so his response wasn’t entirely unexpected. But even if he was bent out of shape over the situation, or toward an opponent, he wouldn’t betray his feelings.

“Not all Russian fighters have this ‘ice-cold’ thing,” he said. “I think it’s a cultural thing, because in Russia, it’s not common for the fighters to please the crowd the way they do here. In Russia, you have to be very responsible with everything you do and say, so if you say something or promise to do something, you have to deliver it. “

And at Bellator 98, he plans to deliver a win for his motherland. The event takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The event’s main card, which is headlined by Shlemenko vs. Cooper, airs live on Spike TV following prelims on Spike.com.

Shlemenko returns to the Bellator cage after knocking out Maiquel Falcao to win the title vacated by Hector Lombard, whose defection to the UFC put the Viacom-owned promotion’s middleweight division in limbo. Two years passed between Shlemenko’s triumph in the Season 5 tournament and his bout with Falcao. So he can relate to Cooper’s winding road.

“I think I had a difficult road to becoming champion, and I do not wish anybody to follow this path,” he said. “I was sitting without a fight for a long period of time.”

Cooper, of course, is just playing fill-in, and is taking the opportunities offered to him. Prior to the setback against Marshall, he won six straight. A win over the Russian champ would be a huge step up in stature.

Shlemenko, meanwhile, is steadfast – he’s not going anywhere when they meet in the cage. At least by outward appearances, he’s not going to a rival promoter, either. Saturday is just a meeting between two guys who know each other by a lot more than last name.

“I can guarantee you that it will be a very entertaining, violent and brutal fight,” Shlemenko said.

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.